Device for locating and raising sunken ships



A. J. SARGENT DEVICE 30R LOCATINGIAND RAISING sumnau SHIPS Oct. 20, 1925- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Juno 3 1925 Oct. 20,1925. 1.557.778

A. J. SARGENT DEVICE FOR LOCA'I'ING MID RAISING SUIIKIN SHIPS Filed Juno 3, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 20, 1925.

UNITED STATES ARTHURJ. SARGENT, or rnovrnnivon,nHonnIs'LAivn. I

v DEVICE FOR YLOIGATING AND RAISING sUNKEn SHIPS.

Application filed June 3, 1925. Serial Ito-34,704

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. SARGENT,

Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Locating and Raising Sunken Ships,of which the following is a specification.

, This invention relates to an apparatus by the use of which sunken vessels may be easily located and brought to the surface of the pipecontalinerinsideelevation, aportionof 65 the teed pipe contalner;beingbroken away. a citizen of the United States, residingat I This apparatus isfor use in connection 1 with any boat of aconventional construction ti which is provided with the usualwater-tight compartments. Referring to Fig. {1, the boat 00 is indicated in general by the numeral 1; and

the boat has been shown divided into a-n'um- -ber of compartments2-which are normally:.;

water, and one object. of the invention is to 'provide an apparatus which is so associated with the vessel that, when the vessel sinks, air may be forced into the compartments provided therein and water which may have accumulated in thesecompartments expelled so that the vessel may of its own. buoyancy rise to the surface of the water.

Another object of the invention is'to prowater-tight and divided-from each other ,by bulk heads and decks of a'conventionalconstruction. The number ;of compartments provided will, of course, be controlled by the size of the vessel. When a leak is causedby a collision, waterwill enter the hull, below the water line and-if a sufficient number of the-compartments become floodedthe normal buoyancy of the vessel will be over- ,come and the vessel will sink. If. the water h 2' which has accumulated in these compartvide a vessel having an arrangement of inlet and outlet pipes W forced into the normally water-tight compartments of the vessel andpermit air to escape from these compartments if the pressure is too great,

Another object of the inventionis to provide an improved arrangement of feed pipes 30 and a mooring line which will be" normally ch will permit air to be ments can beexpelledfro1n.them,;the norinal buoyancy of the vessel: would then be restored andit would :riseto the surface.

There has, therefore, been provided a 51111111 berof air inlet pipes 3 which extend; longily of thepipes'and'are so located that-air stored upon the upper deck of the boat andv afloat which will be connected with the mayjbe supplied to the Various compartments into which the boat. is divided. "Each of the outlets .is in the form of acheck valve mooring line and feed pipes and so deposited upon the upper deck that, when the vessel sinks, this float may move upwardly through the water to the surface thereof and draw the mooring line and feed pipes with it. By this arrangement the salvage tug can be secured to the mooring line and the feed pipes I pumps.

. This'invention is illustrated in panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view showing asunken vessel 7 in longitudinal section and the mooring line and feed pipes drawn upwardly to the surface of the water bythe float;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view showing the float partments.

drawn aboard the tug and connected with air the accomwhich may be opened byair forced through the pipe but will be normally closed sothat air cannot pass :intothe'pipes from'the com- Pipes bextend upwardly from the pipes 3 through the upper deck; of, the

'vessel and each has its upper endconnected' with a :feed pipe 6.. The feed pipesG are preferably strong rubber'hose which'may be coiled: in the housing. or container 7 located upon the deck and firmly secured thereon by the brackets 8. Since t-he feedv pipes 6*are formed of rubber hose, they. may. be'packed in a compactmass int-he container/7 and when necessary can be readily drawn== outwardly and upwardlythrough the top of the resting in its cradle upon the deck andthe' mooring line and feed pipes in their normal stored positions, and

Fig. 3 1s a. view taken longitudinally container. 7

It is important that provision be made for the release of excess air pressure inthe compartments. and, therefore, there has been provided a number of pipes 9 which extend through the upper deck of the vessel and showing the float, mooring line reel and feed upwardly from the various compartments and through the upper-:deck of the vessel.

At the upper end of each pipe 9, there has been provided a check valve 10 which will be of "a conventional construction-andpermittedi of being set so that it may of 1tself open when the pressure in the compartment from which its pipe 9 leads exceeds a certain. point. These valves 10 should further be so constructed-that they may be manually opened at will in case the vessel does not come to the surfaceupon an even keel. The pipes 9 communicate with the compartments through the bottoms thereof and as the airlisadmitted into the upper portions of'the compartments, it will be obvious'that as air accu1nulates 'in'the upper portions of the compartments it will serve to force the water out of the compart- 'ments through the pipes 9. Therefore, a sufficient number of the compartments may be cleared of water in order to permit the vessel torise to the surface.

' The mooring line 11 may be a strong rope or wire cable and is wound upon a drum 12. The drum 12 is provided with an axially disposed shaft 13 which extends beyond the ends of the drum and is journaled in the upstanding arms 14 of a bearing bracket 1 15. This bracket 15 rests upon the deck in spaced relation to the feed pipe container 7 and is firmly secured by bolts or other suitable fasteners 16. Blocks '17 are secured upon the deck between the bracket 15 and- 19'to which the mooring line 11 is secured and at its other end the'float carries an eye 20 to which a chain '21 is secured. The

chain 21 has its other end firmly secured to the free ends of the feed-pipes '6, as shown in Fig. 2. i From an inspection of Figs. 2 and 3, it will be readily seen that,

when the vessel'sinks to the position shownx "in Fig. 1 and the float 18- rises to the surface of the water a pull will be exerted upon the mooring line 11 and feed pipes *6 which will cause them to be drawn upwardly to the surface of the-water wit-h the float. The float inaddition to serving as means to draw the mooring line-and feedpipes upwardly to'the surface of the water will also serve as means to indicate the position of the sunken vessel so that a tug f a position above .the boat. The feed pipes will then be connected with air pumps with which the tug will be provided and air forcedvthrough the pipes 6 into the pipes 5 through which it willfipass into the pipes 3 and out through the outlet valves 4 into the compartments. of the sunken vessel. As the air is forced into these compartments, it Willgradua-llydisplace'the water Which has accumulated in them, the water being forced through the pipes 9. As soon as a sufficient quantity of water has been displaced, the natural buoyancy of the vessel will cause it to risefto the surface. If the vessel comes to the surface on an even keel, it .is" then only necessary to connect the vessel with the rescue tug by means of a tow line and-the vessel can be towed into-port. If, however, the vessel should come to the surface bow first or stern first, this will indicate that there is more air in the compartments at one end of the vessel thanat theother' end. The valves at the upper ends of the pipes 9 which extendthrough' the deck at the higher end of the vessel will then be opened *anda .suflicient amount of air allowed to escape-to cause the elevated end to give way as the valves 10. willbe set to open at a predeterminedpressure and permit surplusair to escape. I I

Having thus described the invention,-.I claimf a 1. The combination with aboat having compartments normally water-tight, of air inlet pipes mounted in said boat. and having *valvecontrolled outlets to'deliver air into said compartments, said pipes having their feed pipes connected with the inlet endsof said air inlet pipes, a float connected with said feed pipes, outlet pipes leading from said compartments toa point externally of inlet ends extended externally of said boat,

said boat, and control valves at the outer ends of said outlet pipes.

.2. The combination with. a boathaving compartments normally Water-tight, of; an air inlet pipe extending from ,a point exand provided with valve-controlled outlets ternally of the boat into said compartments" i to deliver air into the compartments, out-let pipes leading from. said compartments and 1 extended externally of the boat and at their outerends provided with controlTvalves; a-

supply pipe connected with the ou'ter i'endof said inlet pipe and adapted to be :drawn upwardly from a sunken boat to the surface of the water, and afloatcomiected with said supply pipe.

3. The combination with a boat having con'ipartments normally water-tight, of an air inlet pipe extending from a point externally ot' theboat'into said compartments and provided with valve-controlled outlets to deliver air into the compartments, outlet pipes leading from said compartments and extended externally of the boat and at their outer ends provided with control valves,

a supply pipe connected with the outer end of said inlet pipe and adapted to be drawn upwardly from a sunken boat to the surface of the water, a mooring line, a carrier for said mooring line secured upon said boat and adapted to have the mooring line extended therefrom, and a float connected with said mooring line and supply pipe.

i. The combination with a boat having compartments normally water-tight, of an air inlet pipe extending into the boat from a point externally thereof and into said compartments, said pipe being provided in the compartments with outwardly opening check valves, a flexible feed pipe connected with the outer end of said inlet pipe, a carrier for said supply pipe secured upon said boat, a mooring line, a carrier for said mooring line secured upon said boat, and a float connected to said feed pipe and mooring line and adapted to move upwardly from the boat to the surface of the water when the boat sinks and draw the feed pipe and mooring line upwardly.

5. The combination with a boat having compartments normally water-tight, of an air inlet pipe extending into the boat from a point externally thereof and into said compartments, said pipe being provided in the compartments with outwardly opening check valves, a flexible feed pipe connected with the outer end of said inlet pipe and adapted to be coiled upon the deck of the boat, an enclosure for the coiled supply pipe secured upon the deck of the boat, a drum means to rotatably mount said drum secured upon the deck of the boat, a mooring line wound upon said drum and having one end secured thereto, a cradle upon said boat deck, and a float normally resting in said cradle andconnected with said supply pipe and mooring line and adapted to draw the mooring line and supply pipe upwardly to the surface of the water when the boat sinks.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ARTHUR -J. SARGENT. 1,. 3. 

